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Friday, November 8, 2013

Vatican
City, 8 November 2013 (VIS) – This morning the Holy Father received
in audience the president of the Republic of Costa Rica, Laura
Chinchilla Miranda, who then went on to meet with Archbishop
Dominique Mamberti, secretary for Relations with States.

During
the cordial discussions, mention was made of the collaboration
between Church and State in facing certain social issues, and the
common attention of the Parties to various themes such as the defence
of life and the protection of the environment. Particular attention
was paid to the possibility of working towards a future Agreement
between the Holy See and the Republic of Costa Rica in order to
strengthen bilateral relations for the good and the development of
the country.

Finally,
the focus turned to the regional situation and to certain
international problems, emphasising the importance of commitment to
peace-building.

Vatican
City, 8 November 2013 (VIS) – This morning Pope Francis received in
audience the participants in the plenary assembly of the Supreme
Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura, the dicastery of the Curia
Romana which aside from exercising the function of supreme judicial
authority, oversees the correct administration of justice in the
Church. On this occasion, the Assembly focused on promoting an
effective defence of the bond of marriage in canonical annulment.

The
pontiff mentioned, first of all, that the activity of the dicastery
is intended to promote the work of the ecclesiastical tribunals,
called to respond adequately to the faithful “who turn to the
justice of the Church, seeking a just decision”, and he described
as “very favourable” the assembly's attention to the figure of
the defender of the bond, “whose presence and intervention are
obligatory throughout the entire process”.

In
particular, he cited the instruction “Dignitas connubii” which
describes the role of the defender of the bond “in cases of
annulment on the grounds of mental incapacity, which in some
tribunals constitutes the only permissible cause for annulment”,
and “underlines the diligence with which [the defender of the bond]
must appraise the questions addressed to expert witnesses, as well as
the results of their reports”. Therefore, the defender of the bond
must offer a careful service and “must not limit himself to a hasty
reading of the acts, nor to bureaucratic or generic answers. In this
delicate task, he is called upon to establish harmony between the
prescriptions of the Code of Canon Law and the concrete situations in
the life of the Church and society”.

The
complete and faithful fulfilment of the duties of the defender of the
bond “does not constitute impingement upon of the jurisdiction of
the ecclesiastical judge, who is solely competent in deciding the
case. When the defender of the bond exercises his right to appeal,
also to the Roman Rota, against a decision that he considers
detrimental to the truth of the bond, his task does not intrude upon
that of the judge. On the contrary, the judges may be assisted in
their activities by the diligent work of the defender of the
matrimonial bond. The Vatican Council II defined the Church as a
communion. This is the context in which the services of the defender
of the bond, and the esteem granted to him, should be regarded, in a
respectful and attentive dialogue”.

The
Holy Father mentioned that “those who work in the name of the
Church are part of the Church”, and therefore “the link between
the Church who evangelises and the Church who administers justice
must be kept alive. Service to justice is a commitment to apostolic
life: it must be exercised while remaining focused on the icon of the
Good Shepherd, who tends to the lost and injured sheep”.

Pope
Francis concluded by encouraging the participants in the plenary to
persevere in their dedication to the “transparent and correct
exercise of justice in the Church, in response to the legitimate
wishes of the faithful who turn to their pastors, especially when in
good faith they seek authoritative clarification of their status”.

Vatican
City, 8 November 2013 (VIS) – This morning a press conference was
held in the Holy See Press Office to present the first issue of the
new series of the journal “Latinitas”, published by the
Pontifical Academy Latinitas, instituted by Pope Benedict XVI in
November 2012. The speakers were Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi,
president of the Pontifical Council for Culture; Professor Ivano
Dionigi, president of the Pontifical Academy for Latin and rector of
the University of Bologna, and the writer Valerio Massimo Manfredi.

The
first issue will include an article responding to the questions,
“Latin for whom? Why Latin?” by the new director Ivano Dionigi,
following an epigraph dedicated to Pope Francis.

The
journal is divided into three sections: scientific (“Historica et
philologica”); “Humaniora”, dedicated to contemporary
literature in Latin, and “Ars docendi”, which considers didactic
issues related to classical languages and cultures, ranging from
antiquity to the present day.

The
volume is completed by an appendix in Latin with “Breves de
Academiae vita notitiae”, a brief summary of the main activities of
the academy, the “Argumenta” or abstracts of the contributions to
the journal in accordance with current international norms for
scientific publications, and a useful “Index universus”. The new
“Latinitas” will publish articles in Latin and, for the first
time, in Italian and other languages.